Century Quest 2011: The Planet Ultra Solvang Double Century...Spring.

This year is turning out to be a very unpredictable one for the weather. It has been hit or miss. The first double of the year ended up being a rainy deluge. Death Valley ended up during a major storm front passage which created storm force winds and dust storms in both directions. Thank God I was able to do the Camino Real Double Staff ride on a beautiful day. We got real lucky because the rains came back soon after.

Solvang turned out to be nasty nasty nasty.

  I got out of bed the morning of the event at 1:30 am. I went to bed before nine but wasn't able to sleep well. (I never do the night before a event). I should have just stayed up!

  I had a rough week. I spent Thursday afternoon in the Kaiser Hospital emergency room worried that I was having heart problems. I was experiencing mild equilibrium problems and shortness of breath while driving to work a couple of times during the week. I felt fine while riding my bike in training. Better safe than sorry they say!

 After getting a battery of tests....EKG, full blood workup, chest X-ray, full bottle of saline in a IV, etc. etc.,
everything turned out perfect. The doctor said he has seen endurance athletes who are over trained sometimes have this type of symptom and I did have the same thing happen about 6 years ago but a little different, (same tests and even a MRI of my head to see if my acoustic tumor was coming back...same results...everything good). Anxiety was a big part of it coupled with too much caffeine.

  I left home for Solvang at two thirty am and had a nice drive the whole way. I love driving in the early morning!!

  The ride start for the Spring event is in Buellton, California, about two miles from Solvang.

Start group just after 5am

  I rolled out with a big group a little after 5am and headed East toward Solvang on Hwy 246. It was cold and the air was damp. It took a long time to get warmed up but I felt real good after about 2 miles. I was wearing full neoprene booties on my feet, a base layer shirt, a jersey, arm warmers, a wind vest, full finger gloves and a wind breaker on top of all that. I wore some real warm leg warmers on my legs. I had neoprene gloves and a rain jacket in my Camel-Bak pack in case it rained.



Heading out of Solvang



  We crossed Hwy 154 and made a big loop around the Santa Ynez Valley until we reached the infamous Foxen Canyon Road. This road is well known on the famous Solvang Century which draws thousands of participants every year. We climbed over what they call "the wall" on Foxen and then we had a nice descent, then some more climbing to the top. We passed the Fess Parker Winery on the way up. Nice place for a tasting!! The coyotes were howling up a storm in the predawn darkness as we climbed. It was eerie!

The above video is of the group I started with climbing Foxen Canyon in the pre-dawn hours.

   Over the top we went. We had a fantastic descent to the first check point in Sisquoc. It was still in the low 40's and damp. It was light now and we could see the storm clouds coming from the North-West, the direction we were going. It didn't look good.

I grabbed some PB&J's, ate one, stuffed one in my pocket, put some liquid food in my bottles and hit the road.

I felt great!! I was able to keep my heart rate below 150 in my aerobic training zone so far with no problem. That was my goal for the whole ride although on the steeper climbs it was not possible. I just paced myself.

A few miles down the road I came across some interesting fellows. Jason Pierce and Ken Emerson. They were riding with a group of guys from the bay area....all on fixed gear bikes. I have know Jason and Ken for years but only in passing on these rides but never formally met them until now.

For those who don't know, a fixed gear bike is just that. One fixed gear.

Ken is middle left and Jason is in the Furnace Creek 508 jersey on his right. Heading into Santa Maria.

A fixed-gear bicycle (or fixed-wheel bicycle, sometimes known in the USA as a fixie) is a bicycle that has no freewheel, meaning it cannot coast — the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving even on descents. I really have to try this sometime. Watching these guys on the climbs was great.

I rode with these guys on and off all the way to San Luis Obispo.

Before hitting Santa Maria we turned right and went up Bull Canyon which was a nice little climb up to Hwy 166. Then it was down to Thompson road which parallels Hwy 101 all the way to Arroyo Grande.

Once in Arroyo Grande it was a slight uphill to the Lake Lopez area before a left turn toward San Luis Obispo. Still no rain yet. Maybe we will be lucky and it wont rain.......NOT!!!

About 2 miles from town, the deluge began. It started raining pretty steady as we pulled into check point two at the Park on Orcutt Road.


Teresa really came prepared....nice rain suit!!!




Time to pull on the rain gear.

Now it really started to pour as we went through San Luis and made our our way to Hwy 1 and Morro Bay.
Rain rain rain all the way through Morro and Los Osos and lunch at the golf course. Then it let up just in time to eat a great sub sandwich.

I saw my pilot friend Paul from Santa Rosa and we talked for a while.

I then started to get the chills so I had to get rolling. It really started to pour as we made our way to Shell Beach, Pismo Beach and Oceano on PCH. From Oceano, in the pouring rain, we climbed up on the mesa that rises above the area. Some pretty tough little climbs in there. It was much nicer climbing in the rain than going fast in it.

Now we hit the mud and muck as we dropped off the mesa toward the town of Guadalupe. All the mud and crap from the farmers tractors was on the road, in our gears, mouths, eyes, nose, pants, shoes...everywhere....many places I wont mention!!

When we pulled into the fourth checkpoint the rain miraculously stopped and the wind stopped. I started to bonk, (glycogen depletion), about 2 miles from the stop and I felt like crap!!!
I did the correct thing. I pounded down 2 sandwiches, finished all my liquid fuel, ate a pack of Cliff Blocks and filled everything back up for the next shlog to Los Alamos.
After about 20 minutes I started feeling great. I had caught it soon enough. If you bonk bad, you cannot recover and it is painful to get through the rest of the ride. It takes a long time to recover.

I headed back out with the fixie guys and stayed with them the rest of the ride.

As soon as we left Guadalupe it started to rain hard again and it pretty much rained the entire way back to the finish. Not to mention we had a head wind all the way to Los Alamos.

This year the course was changed and we took a new route to the finish. The old course had us taking Drum Canyon over the mountain and back to Hwy 246 where we made a left turn and fast ride to the finish in Buelton. The road is very treacherous and full of pot holes especially on the descent.

Ken and Jason climbing Foxen Canyon on their fixies

Instead of Drum Canyon we paralleled the 101 Freeway for a while and made our way to a beautiful and gradual climb, Alisos Canyon.

We took Alisos back to the reverse of the morning descent on Foxen Canyon for a 4 mile climb. Then we had a nice descent before rolling back into Solvang and Hwy 246 for a right turn and 2 mile finish to Buelton.

Man was I wet at the finish! I checked in, talked to the guys for a few minutes and headed to the car. I turned the heater on, warmed up the car, got changed and got a hamburger. Then I hit the road and went home.



I found out later that we missed a turn and rode an extra 2-3 miles longer to get to the finish. Whats a few extra miles when you wet, mucky, muddy, grimy......whooya!! # 94 complete.

Overall time: about 14hrs 25 minutes

Ride time: 12 hrs 44 minutes

Elevation gain: 7,837 feet

Average climb: 2%

Max climb: 10%

From my VDO computer.

For all the pictures: http://www.stevemeichtry.myphotoalbum.com/

Century Quest 2011: Camino Real Double Century

Well, after a disappointing Death Valley Double attempt, I received a message on Facebook that they were organizing a staff ride for the Camino Real Double workers.
I jumped at the opportunity to add this one. That way I could stay on track.

There were only four of us. Lynn Katano who I have known a long time and who has completed 94 doubles before this one. Terri Boykins who is one of the best support personnel on any of the rides and a real strong double rider. (we call her "The Queen of the Santa Monica's") She can be seen riding in the Santa Monica Mountains on most weekends on the most challenging of climbs. John Long who is also a very strong double rider with quite a background.

Left to right: John, Lynn and Terri

We started right at 5:30 am in the dark for the event which would take us up the coast to Oceanside first.

We rode through the hills around Newport and Laguna before stopping for our first rest in Dana Point Harbor.

Lynn and John head to San Onofre

It was then up the coast through San Clemente, past the San Onofre Power Plant to Camp Pendleton.



Terri approaching the power plant






We all just took it easy and enjoyed the camaraderie. We were having a great time. The weather was perfect with very light winds.

We entered the bike trail and encountered many other cyclists just enjoying the day. During the actual event 2 weeks prior, the course took the riders up on to Interstate 5 for seven miles to Oceanside.

We chose to take the nicer, slightly longer, route and go through the famous Camp Pendleton Marine Base. The base is open to visitors on the weekends and cyclists can ride through as long as they show identification at the gates. It was beautiful riding through the base. No traffic, clean smooth roads and real nice scenery. We saw many Marines training along the road and in the fields. We made sure we showed our appreciation as we went passed.

Heading up the nice bike trail

We left the base and stopped in Oceanside for some much needed water and fuel. It was then off to the San Luis Rey River Bike Path which took us inland to the Bonsall area near the 15 Freeway.



John and Lynn riding through Bonsall



John brought a giant sandwich in his Camel- Bac and we all split it on our lunch stop at the Four Seasons Campground.

Now the climbing began. John and Lynn left a while ahead of us since Terri and I were riding stronger. Terri was starting to have some stomach problems and not feeling too good. She was still climbing like an animal though. We caught them at the top of the first climb into the avocados.

 We had to climb up into the avocado orchard areas out and around the Fallbrook area. It was real nice and not bad since we were not racing and just enjoying ourselves. It did get warm in a few places though.

These videos below are of us climbing up Old Hwy 395 into Fallbrook.

We meandered around the area climbing and dropping until we made our way back to Oceanside and Camp Pendleton for the return trip. Terri was really starting to feel bad now. I stayed with her most of the time and we paced ourselves into the westerly head wind going up the coast.

Entering the base on the return trip

We retraced our ride until we reached San Clemente were we stopped for a break at Carl's Jr. and had bean and cheese burritos. Wow those tasted good. We thought we lost Terry as she was in the bathroom most of the time. She said she wasn't too good but could continue. 

We headed to San Juan Capistrano as it got dark before heading up once again climbing toward Rancho Santa Margarita via Crown Valley Parkway and Antonio Parkway.

Now it was down, down, down into a dark and chilly Live Oak Canyon on Trabuco Canyon road. 

  I looked back as I sped through the oak trees in the cold canyon and didn't see Terri. She was right behind me that last time I looked. What happened? Did she fall or get a flat? I turned around and started back. I then saw Eric who was driving support for Lynn and John on the final 3rd of the ride. He said she had turned right at the General Store. I went back and couldn't find her anywhere. There was a restaurant up that road also but I didn't see her anywhere. I looked for  her bike with its blinking lights. Nothing.  I was worried she thought that was our turn because the route slip tells you to turn rt. there for the rest stop at the store on the regular event. 

  The store is closed at that hour. I called out to no avail and then I called Lynn to have Eric come to drive up that road and see if he can find her. Just as I hung up she appeared, coming out of the restaurant parking lot. Wheww....thought we lost her.

  You really have to be careful on these long rides when you are riding "self contained", because your mind can play tricks on you sometimes. A lack of glycogen to the brain can really throw you for a loop if you don't keep refueling regularly. If there is nobody else around to help you, there can be a real problem, out there in the cold and dark. She still thought she was supposed to go up the hill on that road. 

  Good thing I saw she wasn't behind me because she would have kept going up that hill and then she would have really been lost and we wouldn't have know where she went.

   I told her that I had done this event many times in the past. "We are supposed to continue through Live Oak Canyon to Santiago Canyon", I yelled. 

   I was feeling great as I was just pacing myself the whole ride so far, not racing. The climb out of Live Oak Canyon seemed effortless this year.  Terri really started dropping back and by the time we got to Santiago Canyon she was done and very sick. I called Lynn to tell her and she told Eric. He came to pick her up and took her the last 22 miles or so to the finish. Lynn and John were just entering the canyon as I was heading up Santiago.

Just as I started the final climb and down shifted, my rear derailleur cable busted. I was not about to call it quits at this point. I left the rear in the small cog. I have a triple front chain ring so I downshifted into the granny gear and grunted on the 12 miles of Santiago Canyon in the 30-11 gear. Most of it was gradual uphill but the final portion was downhill and blazing fast with no sharp turns. I knew that once I got to the top of Santiago, it was mostly all downhill or flat to the finish in Irvine.

 I blazed down the hill with my lights on full as the small amount of oncoming traffic were flashing there lights at me thinking I was a motorcycle with the brights on. 

I made the left turn on Jamboree, the left on Portola and the right on Sand Canyon.

2.6 miles to go!! I could see Interstate 5 up ahead and smell the finish. I went under the freeway and turned into the hotel parking. Wooohoooo was that finish fast once I got to the top.

I finished by myself at 10 pm, got a hamburger, which I was craving, and drove home.

It was a great ride. It was the first event I have done in such a leisure manner and I just loved it. I never felt burned out and had lots of strength at the end. I think I have to seriously think about doing more rides this way and not be so hard on myself.  THIS WAS A BLAST!!

Death Valley Double Century

Well, my first event on my quest this year was a bust.

Storm blows in the night before

Death Valley, natures playground, offered up a real challenge this year. WIND!!

We rolled out of Furnace Creek at 6:20 am on a beautiful morning. The winds had calmed some from the night before. It was so windy in the camp ground trying to sleep peoples tents were blowing away!




Getting ready to start in Furnace Creek

 
















Our group with a strong tandem at the front.

 As we headed South toward Badwater the winds picked up strong and we had a nasty headwind all the way to check point 2 in Ashford Mills, just before the climb out of the valley. Lucky I had a large pace line to work with on this section. We only averaged from 8-12 mph even with a pace line. It took us a loooonnnggg time to get there.

My friends Chris and Saralie were manning the rest stop. It was great to see them.








These guys were real strong, both Furnace Creek 508 veterans, but would have to bow out of the ride before me.

 I left by myself for the long 16 mile climb up Jubilee and Salsberry passes. Before I left I thanked the strong tandem team for the pull into that wind. We were now heading more East and the winds were not as bad. It was still in the 50's though and going to get colder as we climbed from 200 feet below sea level to 3500 feet.

Heading up Jubilee Pass

Toping Jubilee Pass

Looking west toward Death Valley

I caught up with a couple of guys, one who was a solo finisher of the Furnace Creek 508 last year from the east coast. I didn't get his name but he told me he just did the ride on a whim and finished the solo. Unbelievable!!












We kept a steady pace for about 2/3 of the climb then they took a rest and I continued on over the summit.

Salsberry Pass

It was cold and windy on the descent but real fast with epic views. I hit the 75 mile mark in Shoshone feeling real good. It seemed to take absolutely forever to go that first 75 miles. I didn't stop long and started back up the pass for the return on the east side. It was harder and steeper than the front side but not quite as long. The first part was easy but got steep toward the top of Salsberry.

Heading westbound into the park. Climbing on the back side.



Salsberry Pass looms way ahead. It doesn't look steep but is 4-5% grade where I am and kicked up to 8-9% ahead.

 As I went down the west side of the passes the winds switched and started to become a headwind again.
When I reached Ashford Mills after the grueling 16 mile, or so, descent I was feeling real good and really hadn't seen that many double riders returning as I made my way to Shoshone. Awesome! I knew I must be in the top 3rd  at least and I was feeling real strong. (actually, so many riders had turned around an went back that there were not that many left)  Despite the wind in the morning, I might have a pretty good showing.

Wellllllllll.....As I was leaving the check point....to the north west and in the direction we were all heading were giant dust clouds forming and I knew it couldn't be good!

Storm front moves in from northwest.

As I rolled up the road the winds picked up and were gusting to 40 mph this time right in our faces again. I was riding in my granny gear in the flats only managing about 10 mph.

My left eye started to act up as I got to the 120 mile mark. I did the smart thing and decided to get a ride back to the start before I went blind in the eye.

It was very disappointing as this is one of my favorite places to ride, just not when its windy.

The scenery and the cloud formations were spectacular the whole day in Gods playground. The sunset was awesome as I waited for the Sag wagon to pick my up.

As I write this, the preliminary results are it: Out of over 300 entrants, some doing the century, some the 150 miler and some the 200  mile event.

Only about 60 finished the 100

Only 20 completed the 150

And only 8, that's 8, completed the double.

I was feeling so good and about 40 minutes ahead of some of the people who ended up finishing . I timed the guys who passed me while I was waiting for a ride.

Maybe my next event will offer better conditions but who knows with the way the weather has been going this year.

Century Quest 2011

Well, here it is 2011 and as January comes to a close it is time to start my quest for the 100th "California Triple Crown" Double Century.

92  down and 8 to go.

I have been doing double centuries since 1987 and have completed over 100 to date but there was not a organized entity until 1990 when the Triple Crown was started by my friend Chuck Bramwell.  Much thanks go to Chuck and his crew for the awesome job they have done.

After some easy times during the holidays dialing back the training and just enjoying myself, it is time to get on the ball and go for it!

As the month of January ends I have got my miles up to 200 miles per week with my first event a month away.
Still I feel like a slacker compared to the miles some of my friends put in on long distance brevets and such. I think that will be something I have to check out and do more often.

I have been mostly training in the hills above my home in the San Fernando Valley. The Santa Monica Mountains are just an epic place to ride to say the least. My favorite ride is an early sunrise climb up to Saddle Peak. There are many roads on which to get there off of Mulholland Hwy or you can take Topanga Canyon to Fernwood Pacific Drive. Some longer than others. From the top the sunrise is spectacular. On a good California winter day you can see Santa Monica Bay, Catalina Island, Palos Verdes Peninsula, West LA, Downtown LA, Mount Baldy along the San Gabriel Mountain Range and the Santa Ana Mountains. Just some epic views on a good day. I love it!



Santa Monica Bay and Palos Verdes Peninsula

 My plans this year are a little different than past years and somewhat more ambitious. I am doing the Spring Death Valley Double for the first time in many years plus some events that I have never done before, some which are going to be the toughest I've done if I go by what others have said about them.
I have to complete my last 8 events before the Triple Crown Breakfast in September.

This is my itinerary for this year:
1. Death Valley Double
2. Solvang Spring Double
3. Hemet Double
4. Devil Mountain Double (my first time)
http://quackcyclists.com/dmd.htm
5. Central Coast Double
6. Davis Double (Haven't done this one since the 90's)
7. Heartbreak Double
8. Alta Alpina 8 Pass Challenge (my first time and the toughest)
http://www.altaalpina.org/challenge/8pass/
9. Grand Tour Triple or Quad Century (not sure yet)
10. White Mountain Double
11. Knoxville Fall Classic (Triple Crown Breakfast here the next day)
12. Bass Lake Double (maybe)
13. Solvang Fall Double
14. Borrego Double

The toughest are most definitely going to be Devil Mountain and Alta Alpina. Devil Mountain is up in
the East Bay area near Pleasanton California. It got its name because you climb Mount Diablo as part of the course. Alta Alpina is insane but will be the most beautiful of all the rides. All mountain passes in and around the mountains not far from the Lake Tahoe area of California.
Although no double century is easy, the least difficult will be Hemet and Davis. I have not done Davis in many years.

I have really enjoyed some great rides in training so far since the first of the year. I have been putting in more miles than I normally do for this time of year. Most of my riding has been in the Santa Monica's as I said earlier. I also took the opportunity to ride to the Cochella Valley near Palm Springs for my nieces wedding instead of driving. It was great training for the desert riding to come in Death Valley. It ended up being a 188 mile jaunt and I felt great.

Ginny and I on Pacific Coast Hwy

I really have been enjoying riding with my wife Ginny on the tandem. The tandem is great training and we just love riding it.

Nicole and I on the Christmas Century

I did a 100 mile event with Daughter Nicole before Christmas on the tandem and we made a great team. I really want to do a double with her on the tandem this year or next.



Cherisse with her "Gamecocks" jersey a couple of years ago



My oldest Daughter Cherisse did the Grand Tour Double Century with me in 1998 on the tandem when she was still in high school. She did an incredible job and we had a time of under 12 hours. (under 11 ride time...wow what a stoker!! and only 18)

I really love riding will all my girls.

Now as we start the second month of the year I think I am ready for what is to come. I am lighter than I have been after the holidays and ready to rumble.

Wish me luck. I will be keeping you posted on all the events with pictures and a blog with a story.

Solvang Fall Double Century

I left home around 3:40 am for the event that starts in Solvang, a quaint little Danish Town in central California not too far north of Santa Barbara.  I had fog and drizzle the whole way on the 2 hour drive to the ride start. I was really hoping it wasn't going to be like that on the whole ride.
After I went through Gaviota Pass conditions got somewhat better and the drizzle stopped.
It was overcast and not too cold at the ride start, The Royal Copenhagen Hotel. Planet Ultra, the event Organizers have used this start location many times. It is right on the main drag into town.

I went in and checked in for the ride and opted to do the second start time. They had two start time windows. 6am and 6:45 am (first light).
I hung out with a few friends at check in before getting my bike ready for the roll-out.

I saw my friend, Bruno at the start and we ended up riding together the whole ride. Bruno supported me on the last 150 miles or so of the Grand Tour Triple Century Staff Ride this year. I  had a great time on the ride thanks to his support.


 I really wasn't sure how I would feel on this day after suffering on the Bass Lake Double the weekend before.
We talked outside for a while and then lined up for the check out procedure. Planet Ultra has a incredible new computer chip program for tracking the riders times. They didn't give us the chips this time due to a smaller number of riders but they used the system to load our start time and finish time so the results come up immediately and are computed instantly. All we had to do is give our ride number at the start and finish and the system did the rest.

The 6am starters rolling out.




We rolled out with the really fast guys and stayed with them on the little loop section which takes us around the outskirts of Solvang. We then ended up back on Highway 246 Eastbound and made our way out of town and into the beautiful Santa Inez Valley, some of the best wine and ranching country in the world.

Heading East on hwy 246

After our little tour of Santa Inez we headed up Foxen Canyon. This climb took us past many wineries including that of the late Fess Parker.
After we crested the long climb up Foxen we had a fantastic descent to the first check point at mile mile 41.5 in Siscuoc.


Chris with Saralie and Bruno talking in the rear.

 On the way down I ran into my friends Chris and Saralie. They had just finished a 600 kilometer, non-stop, event just a week before from Salinas to Moorpark, Ca.  Awesome!!













We then climbed up onto the Santa Maria Mesa. It was harvesting time so there was allot going on in the vineyards along this section of the route.

Santa Maria Mesa



Bruno on Tepusquet Cyn



After rolling through the vineyards for awhile we made our way to our second climb of the day at mile 48.4, Tepusquet Canyon. This is a really beautiful canyon climb!
  Bruno and I were feeling great with the cool weather so far. It was a 9.1 mile climb and then a 5.6 mile descent. The descent to Hwy 166 was narrow and technical at times but nice and smooth.














Hwy 166 goes from Maricopa in the San Joaquin Valley to Santa Maria.

Heading west on 166 we came to check point two at mile 63.9. I put some fuel in my engine, (liquid Perpetuam, PBJ and some electrolytes) as we didn't stay long.

There were some beautiful bridge crossings on 166 as we went over rivers and gorges.

We had a small head wind heading west but it wasn't too bad as we had some small hills and descents on the way until a nice drop into Santa Maria.
Now we turned north and traversed  Hwy 101 until we turned north-east toward Lopez Lake. It was then a left turn toward San Luis Obispo and the lunch stop at mile 105.

Along the way we hooked up with a couple on their tandem who had come all the way from Colorado for the ride. They were pulling a large group of riders with them in a train so we just tagged along for the ride.








At lunch I saw my cousin Ken and his wife Terry who I told about the ride. Ken and Terry live in Morro Bay and they came out to say hi. It was great as I hadn't seen them in quite some time.

I also saw another friend, Mike who lives in San Luis Obispo. He stopped by to say hi. It was great. The timing worked out really well as far as meeting them. I wish I had more time to sit around and talk. I really didn't want to cool down too long before the grunt of a climb which was to come in a few miles.

Bruno and I look like happy campers don't we?

We sat down and had a sandwich along with a mountain dew which really perked me up. My legs were really burning from pushing pretty hard on the first hundred miles. We did the first hundred in under 6 hours. (rolling time). 6:11 when we got to the lunch at mile 105. The thought was going through my head that I may have pushed too hard and may not be recovered from Bass Lake last week where I went out way  to fast at the beginning.



Prefumo Canyon

 After lunch I felt fantastic!! The legs felt strong as we made our way into Los Osos and the infamous Prefumo Canyon Road. 3.8 miles to the summit with sections from 10 to 13%, ouch!



Steeeep



This was the warmest part of the whole ride as it got to about 78 degrees on the road. I geared down and just paced myself up.

Steeper

We had a beautiful view of San Luis from one side and of Morro Bay as we got to the summit.


Morro Bay

 After going through a water stop and checkpoint at the top, we started our descent toward the South. The first part was down a dirt and gravel section before we really had a nice descent to San Luis Bay Drive and Avila Beach Drive, mile 123.7.

Next... Pismo Beach.

On the way to Pismo there was a terrible accident on our route so the Highway Patrol put us up onto Hwy 101 South for awhile to get us past the accident. We actually just blew by all the slow traffic as we made it to the Pacific Coast Hwy off ramp and went into Pismo Beach.

Our paceline blowing by traffic on the 101....wooohoooo!!!

Now we had a pretty good pace line going and we blew through Pismo and Oceano.
We veered right and started the climb up onto the mesa which in the past can be tough due to the sun beating down on you as you climb. Today we had nice cool temps and it wasn't bad at all!

We went through a number of ups and downs on the mesa before dropping down to check point #4 at Leroy Park in Guadalupe, Mile 145. We still had some challenging climbs ahead so I fueled up well and filled one bottle with liquid fuel. It really started to look like it was going to rain.

We stayed on Hwy 1 for awhile with a mild tail wind to our turn on Black Road, mile 153.6.
We had one climb to start on Black, then a nice descent for awhile and then a rather tough climb, (any climb seems hard at this point), up into the Vandenberg Air Force Base area then another real nice descent. On this climb the drizzle started and we started to get wet, but it wasn't cold at all.
We turned on San Antonio road and made our way to the Vandenberg Grade on Hwy 1, mile 164.5.
Before getting to the grade we thought someone was shooting at us. All of a sudden there was automatic weapons fire coming from our right and we almost jumped off our bikes. Was I just hallucinating or was it real? That happens once in a while. The mind plays tricks.
We discovered it was real as we came to a sign that said, "Military Target Range" or something to that affect.
Luckily they weren't pointed in our direction.

Rainy and dark as the sunlight disappears on Vandenberg Grade to the Air Force Base.

Over the top and over a few rolling hills into Lompoc and the final check point at River Park Campground, mile 178.

We continued on Hwy 1 to Santa Rosa Road for a eastbound trek back into Solvang. There was still a little over 1000 feet of climbing to do but at this point it doesn't matter.  Only about 20 damp and dark miles from the finish. It was just getting dark when we made our turn on Santa Rosa. The drizzle was intensifying but it still wasn't really that cold. Bruno and I felt really great on this last section.
We rolled into Buelton. 3 miles to go!!!

We finished real strong and Bruno said it was his fastest double!

Thanks to Debbie and the crew at Planet Ultra for a great event as usual. (The course markings on the road were fantastic this year!)
Thanks to all the volunteers who made our ride so pleasurable!

Thanks to Bruno for the camaraderie!

Stats:

Miles 201.1
Overall time: 13:17
On Bike rolling time: 12:17
Elevation Gain: 10,566 ft.
Average grade: 3%
Maximum grade: 13%

The link to all my pictures of the ride: http://www.stevemeichtry.myphotoalubum.com/